Missed Target
by firejiya
Summary: He feels nothing as he kills, sees red but doesn't really see it, feels satisfaction, but does he? And then he catches a flash of green, vibrant, alive, and he's overcome with the need to destroy, or to cherish, he doesn't even know anymore. A spin on the age-old story of hitman and his young lover. Ereri, Assassin AU, Eventual Smut.
1. Chapter 1

**AN** : I recommend listening to the song Paradise Circus, by Massive Attack while or after reading this.

* * *

One boom, one splatter, one thud and it's over. Well, over except for the cleaning part.

Levi goes home afterwards, stores his gun in his weaponry drawer, strips and throws all of his clothes into a tub of bleach, sets a pot of tea to brew, steps into his shower. Glass doors, directly in front of a ceiling-to-floor window, so civilians on the street could look up 25 stories and see his silhouette through condensation-coated shower doors if they so chose.

Levi is not really an exhibitionist, though. He sighs out, humid air a puff amidst the steam of the shower, as he tips his head back,

baring his jugular,

letting hot water stream down the crevices between his pectoral and abdominal muscles,

leaving trails of red skin in its wake.

Levi likes red, but not on himself.

Shampoo through silky black tresses, soap everywhere else, an adequate rinse, and he's done efficiently, at most seven minutes. He towels himself off and pulls on a pair of loose gray sweatpants that rest low on his hips, catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror in the process.

Levi doesn't find himself attractive. He's short and his oddly soft, oddly severe face doesn't match his thick build. Apparently the world likes what it sees though, he muses, considering how much smoother his job is when people find him easy on the eyes. Or maybe 'intriguing for the eyes' is more accurate.

He makes his way back to his tea, pours it into a mug, takes it black. By now, it's dusk and the lack of sunlight streaming in through his windows has made his apartment dim and faintly orange. Levi never bothers with artificial lighting though; he likes keeping it dark inside. Halfway through his tea, his phone buzzes, the vibrations against his thigh jolting him out of his tea-sipping reverie.

 _Fucking Erwin,_ he thinks, because there's nobody else it could be. He sets his mug down and picks up.

"Levi." Erwin greets. Levi grunts in response.

"So how'd the job go today?" he asks, his voice annoyingly patient, as if he's talking to a child.

"How do you fucking think it went, blondie?" Levi snaps without heat. He doesn't hate Erwin, far from it; Erwin is one of the few people in the world Levi tolerates, maybe even considers a friend. That doesn't mean the bastard doesn't grate on his nerves endlessly though.

"You're right, I don't have to ask. You never miss a target." Levi can imagine Erwin smiling on the other side in that eerie way of his, like he's mentally mapping out how the rest of this conversation will go in advance.

"So, Mina Carolina, why her?" Levi asks. Whether or not he knows details about his target before or after the mission depends on what information Erwin is willing to divulge, how he thinks knowing or not knowing will affect Levi and the outcome.

"She was the daughter of Dr. Carolina, a major scientist on the Coordinate Project. Mike has been tracking the doctor for a few days now; we think this shock will make her crack."

"...And what else?" Levi asks, because he knows Erwin and he knows there's more to this hit.

"We have reason to believe some moderate testing was performed on the daughter, but nothing Mike could detect as is. We think an autopsy could give us some information."

There it is. So this death was not insignificant, but it also wasn't incredibly significant.

With the recap done, Levi grumbles about having to warm up the rest of his tea and they end the call. He marvels momentarily at the seeming flippancy with which Erwin identifies targets and writes away their deaths.

Then he remembers who he is and marvels more at his own depravity.

It's not that Levi

enjoys killing.

He definitely doesn't dislike it either.

It's more like apathy. Every time he pulls the trigger or poisons a drink or slits a throat, he hopes he'll feel _something_ , excitement, horror, anything. He wishes he'd see in color for once, and he does get a vague sense of satisfaction from seeing the spillage of red but,

it's not enough.

He supposes, then, that he does this job for the money, because he's good at it, he gives maybe a singular fuck about Erwin's mission, and

because he figures he's enough of a piece of shit that maybe someday carrying out a hit will give him a full mind and body thrill.

He just has to find the right target.

* * *

Later that night, Levi decides to go to bar on a whim. He doesn't do this often, but he hasn't had good sex in a while, and he could use the unwinding.

He's been to this particular bar maybe a few times before. It's a small, neat joint, with a decent-sized crowd for a Thursday night. Definitely not rowdy though, the music filters softly over the chatting patrons. No wild dancing either, part of the reason Levi likes this one.

He leans against the counter, facing the bartender's impressive collection of liquor, sipping his whiskey half-heartedly. He drinks more for appearances than anything else, he hates becoming uninhibited, can't afford to with the kind of work he does.

Levi thinks he'll give himself a few more minutes before starting his search for someone to take home tonight. He's barely strung this thought together when it's broken down immediately.

"Hey." a voice says behind him.

It's insignificant, just one greeting amidst the cacophony of voices and introductions and conversations that is life.

He turns around to match a face to the voice.

All he sees is green. And beyond that, _color_. So much color. Tan, green, brown white.

It's just one face amidst a sea of people, but it's unforgettable. Levi doesn't know why. Maybe because there's so much life written into every breath this man takes, every line of his open face, every blink of his too fucking green eyes. And something about the way this man grins at Levi,

Levi knows his life will never be quite the same again. He can just sense it.

Maybe this revelation has caught him a little off-guard, but he doesn't show it. He arches an eyebrow at the, decidedly young, man before him and says, "Hey yourself."

Green-eyes takes this as an invitation to step forward, lean his bare forearms against the countertop and glance sidelong at Levi, who's still facing the opposite direction.

He regards Levi like this for a lingering moment, lips melded into a soft smirk, eyes glinting with something Levi can't put his finger on. It makes him feel slightly unnerved, in a way that's almost refreshing for its novelty.

"I'm Eren." he says.

"Levi." he offers, tilting his head back and watching Eren's gaze flit up and down the veins of his neck not at all subtly.

They resume the eye contact.

A tongue darts out quickly, wets those

plush, pink lips.

Levi can't look away from the movement, isn't even surprised when Eren then says,

"I think we should fuck."

Brazen.

Confident.

If Eren isn't going to beat around the bush, Levi won't either. "Yeah?" he murmurs. "I don't think you realize, I'm pretty fucked up."

Eren raises an eyebrow in interest, leans closer to face Levi head on. "How so?"

Levi toys with what to say. He likes using words to play with his potential bed-warmers, wants to see how far he can push this one.

"I guess you could say I'm… _dangerous_." He chuckles to himself because that sounds stupid and melodramatic aloud.

Eren just smirks again. "I think I can handle that." he says, cocking his head to the side, daring Levi to challenge him.

Levi takes the bait. "Oh, really now?"

Eren's cool demeanor fractures slightly, and the full weight of his gaze is almost too much to handle, his response just a fevered

"Try me."

* * *

 **AN** : I might continue this if there's interest.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I return after a year bearing smut. Recommending listening for this chapter is the song Can't Delete You by Joey Gatto.

* * *

It's not a long walk back to Levi's apartment; it's strange making the walk with someone other than himself.

Eren is tightly wound, not in the sense of being high strung, but because he seems to be full to the brim with energy that he's barely able to contain within himself.

Kind of like a bomb

on the brink of detonation.

And Levi's already confused about him because on the one hand he hasn't stopped talking animatedly about his life: he's a junior in college majoring in chemical engineering, his best friends are Armin and Mikasa (Mikasa is technically an adoptive sister), he hates some horse-faced kid named Jean, blah blah blah

Levi is bored to fucking death. He wants to punch a wall or shoot someone, very literally.

But then Eren seems to get the hint that Levi isn't in a talking mood, and he stops walking. It takes Levi a few steps to realize Eren is no longer at his side, and he glances back questioningly at where Eren has stopped. Eren just stands there, with those stupid green eyes poring over Levi's frame, his lips parted slightly in the way those stupid models do to pout, but on him it looks

so, so

appetizing.

And then he starts walking again, letting his hands brush against Levi's arm when they are side by side once more, and Levi really can't help the goosebumps.

So on the other hand, this kid knows exactly how to get Levi's attention which means his annoying blabbing is entirely intentional. He stays quiet for the rest of the walk.

It's a relief when they finally get to Levi's apartment building. Part of him wants to pounce on Eren as soon as they get into the elevator, but a greater part, probably 78% of him, wants to let the tension build inside both of them.

They stick to opposite corners of the elevator.

Around floor 12, Eren says, "I want to know more about how you're dangerous."

Levi is immediately surprised and hopelessly aroused. What he wouldn't give to jam the elevator, press Eren into a corner and suck a bruise into his neck, maybe even let a little blood drip out, adding more colors to the already beautiful painting of tan, gold, blue, and green.

Instead, he just replies, "You only have to wait 13 more floors to find out."

When they finally make it through his door, his heart feels so tense he wonders if he's short of breath. But he plays it cool, taking his time toeing off his shoes and hanging up his keys, and so does Eren.

"Wow, you have a sick place. How much do you even have to make for a view like this?!"

"I work in consulting."

It's kinda sorta not a complete lie. Truth be told, Levi isn't actually wealthy. He's only been in this city for a month now, and Erwin just happened to put him up in a high-rise on the more luxurious side of things.

Eren's now at the floor-to-ceiling window, peering down 25 stories to the distant ground in wonder. Levi approaches him from behind, stops next to him, looks over at him.

"Want me to fuck you right here against this window, let everyone see us?"

Levi lied in the previous chapter; he actually is an exhibitionist.

Eren splits into a slow, wide smile, his teeth distractingly straight. "I like the way you think," he says, turning to Levi and taking his face in his hands.

They start kissing, lips engaging in a strange rubbing dance against each other. It takes them a few seconds to find rhythm with each other, and like always Levi has the irrational fear that he's somehow forgotten how to make out.

Shut the fuck up Levi, you're doing fine.

He intensifies the kiss, nipping a little at Eren's lips, enjoying how soft they are and how rough the barely-there stubble around them is. He winds his fingers through Eren's hair and realizes that it's actually long enough in the back to cover the nape of his neck, and just a little shorter in the front. Perfectly shaggy like a Disney prince or some shit. Levi hates how great this bar-find is turning out to be.

Eren starts removing his own clothes in the dark and tossing them in various directions until he's left in just his boxers, illuminated by city lights.

It physically pains Levi to have to resist picking the strewn garments up, folding them, and disciplining Eren, but he forces himself to focus instead on the deliciously long physique in front of him.

They resume kissing while Eren reaches around to strip Levi.

A jacket.

A shirt.

Pants.

The tiniest pair of men's briefs Eren has ever seen.

"God that's hot" he says, appraising a now naked Levi. "You have perfect abs and you basically wear panties god fucking dammit."

Wordlessly, he pushes Levi up against the glass and falls to his knees, takes his length into his mouth.

Eren's good, bobbing up and down as far as he can go, paying his balls attention. Levi feels himself swelling in Eren's mouth and decides he wants to edge a little. When Eren feels Levi becoming slightly less hard in his mouth, he looks up questioningly. Levi grabs ahold of Eren's head and thrusts into his mouth a few times in answer. Eren gets it then, as Levi grows hard again, and they continue like this for longer than Levi can remember ever receiving a blow job. He doesn't want to come yet though, so he pulls Eren up by the shoulders and kisses him hard, grabbing his ass.

"Mmm sit on my face, sit on my face." Levi mutters, laying down on the wood floor he knows he vacuumed and swept this morning. It's not comfortable on his back but he doesn't want it to be.

"Fuck," Eren curses in obvious thrill as he lowers himself over Levi and holds up his cock out of Levi's face, staring down at him all the while.

Levi licks Eren's asshole while looking into his eyes and

It's too hot.

He takes a break with his mouth to finger him, makes space with his fingers to plunge in his tongue, tongue fucks him, Eren is delirious with pleasure at this point, gyrating his hips slowly, almost riding Levi's face. Levi could do this forever honestly, but he has more to do here. He stops and Eren stands up, holding out a hand to help Levi up.

"Hands against the window," Levi tells an obliging Eren, slipping a condom on himself.

"You feel ready?" he asks. Eren nods firmly and Levi pushes in without further preamble. It's tight and warm and everything sex should be and they rock together for a few minutes.

It's not good.

Levi needs more and he thinks he knows the problem. He pulls out and Eren turns around to see what's wrong. He doesn't get a warning before he's lifted up against the glass window and wraps his legs around Levi on instinct.

Levi plunges in again and Eren throws his head back. "Fuck you're strong," he groans and this is true but Levi is also using the friction of Eren's back against the glass to carry some of the weight.

He gets to see Eren now and it's better than good. The pace is hard and fast and he finds a spot on Eren's neck to bite into, "accidentally" biting hard enough to draw blood.

He swipes a measly drop with his tongue and the blood is gone instantly.

After some point Levi tires because while he is strong, he's not an ox. He let's Eren put his feet down and carry his own weight.

Eren's ass probably looks funny plastered against the wall.

He keeps thrusting and Eren keeps meeting him, at this point it's mindless and desperate, they both shake with the power of exhaustion and impending orgasm.

Eren looks at Levi for a moment and his mouth falls open. Levi can't help it he

grabs Eren's chin and spits into his mouth.

He doesn't expect Eren to immediately clench down on his cock and come all over their abdomens in response.

Levi lasts a few more pumps and comes into the condom off the look on Eren's blissed-out face. They stay wrapped up together, barely able to stand, neither looking at or away from each other. As far as sex goes, that was pretty great by Levi's standards, and if their unmoving sweatiness is anything to go by, Eren feels the same way.

The silence is punctuated by staggered inhales and exhales.

Finally, Eren seems to regain his composure, and he looks down at Levi. "You don't seem like the kind of guy who lets his one night stands stay the night."

Levi's lips quirk up in a half smile. "Yeah, that's pretty accurate."

Eren grins deviously. "Well, I'm not the kind of guy most people can manage to kick out after sex."

"What are you gonna do, force yourself into my bed?" Levi likes his, he realizes, he likes bantering with Eren.

For the second time that night, Eren responds silently by lowering himself in front of Levi's cock. He takes it into his mouth despite how soft it is post-orgasm, moans around it, eats it. Levi can't believe he's getting hard again so soon, but here they are.

He doesn't edge this time, he gets painfully hard and comes into Eren's mouth. Eren keeps the come on the surface, spreads it on his lips with his tongue like he's enjoying a cream sundae, finally swallows it. Levi thinks he wouldn't mind quitting his job, locking Eren in his apartment and debauching him for at least another month.

Eren wins and Levi takes him to his bed, gets him off, and cleans them up with a towel. Sometime later they're cuddling (how did Eren become the big spoon?), and Levi muses aloud

"So guys let you stay the night because you give good puppy dog eyes and good head?"

Eren snickers. "I am a man of many charms."

It falls silent and Levi thinks Eren has fallen asleep, but then he speaks again. "God, my friends are not going to believe this."

"Why, do you usually have trouble getting laid?"

Eren is indignant. "No! But I mean, this mysterious, hot, rich guy who says he's a consultant but seems more like a mafia boss gives you the filthy fuck of a lifetime? That's the kind of juicy tea you gush over with your friends."

Levi doesn't respond because he doesn't know what to say. He doesn't need to know about how good he was, what Eren's friends are like, none of that. As he hears Eren's breathing even out behind him, he runs over his schedule for tomorrow in his head.

No early morning kills, that's good at least.

He does have a meeting with Erwin though so he should still get Eren out of his house sooner rather than later.

There's so much to clean.

Will he even get sleep tonight having to share a bed?

He should have told Eren to scram instead of letting him stay.

Well, he'll just have to make a swift and clean break in communication tomorrow morning.

Yes.

* * *

Levi wakes up the next morning and finds the space next to him empty. Did Eren sneak out to avoid the awkward morning after encounter? Well that's good, they're on the same page then.

But then he hears sizzling and groans. Slings on sweatpants and trods out to the kitchen. Eren is standing at the stove, fully dressed. He hears Levi and turns around, smiles.

Levi has to admit, it's a really great smile.

"I'm making omelettes! People don't usually guess this about me, but I'm actually a good cook."

Levi is annoyed. If Eren's going to go do unnecessary, nice things like make him breakfast, Levi will feel like a shitter person when he inevitably shoos him out of his life. This is too… domestic. Levi doesn't do that. He fucks dirty and moves on, unless there's an opportunity for more fucking. He runs a hand through his hair and sighs.

"Thanks, you really didn't have to do this."

Eren's facing the stove again. "It's okay, I really don't mind. I just need a spatula to flip this omelette now." He opens the kitchen drawer and Levi sees it coming an instant beforehand.

If there was an analog clock in this apartment, Levi would be able to hear it ticking right now, it's so quiet.

Slowly, Eren turns around to face Levi, his eyes wide and faintly fearful.

"Um, why is there a gun in your kitchen drawer?"

* * *

A/N: I'm going to try to update regularly for the next month, but I can't make any promises. As always, reviews are loved 3


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N** : Recommended listening for this one is Downtown by Anitta and J Balvin

* * *

Tick, tock. Tick, tock.

Levi hears the nonexistent clock fill the silence while he remains incapable of producing words.

It's not a big deal.

Really.

This is America, everyone has guns and it's fucked up. He shouldn't feel the need to explain himself to Eren at all.

Apparently, Eren can't wait for an explanation.

"I mean, are you a redneck or something?"

Levi's eyelid twitches reflexively in annoyance. "No, of course not. Have some respect."

Eren holds up his hands placatingly. "Okay okay. I'm just saying like hypothetically, I think I'd rather you were a serial killer than an NRA activist or something."

Levi has to bite back a smile at this.

"Well, lucky for you I'm neither. Look, Eren. I just… I dunno. I had a shitty and violent upbringing, and having a mode of self defense just makes me feel better." This is technically true, and who is he kidding. Levi has no moral compass so

it's not like he gives a damn if he's lying or not.

Eren crinkles his nose in an infuriatingly attractive manner and then lights up like a bulb.

"Fuck, the omelettes!"

He grabs a spatula from the gun drawer and starts to flip the omelette. It's less of a flip and more of a subtle coaxing of the egg off the not-so-nonstick pan.

"It's not burnt; that was close." he sighs. He plates the omelette and turns to hand it to Levi. Levi notices that his hair is tied back in a tiny button of a ponytail at the base of his neck.

A few thick brown locks fall free of the ponytail and frame his face.

Levi forces himself to look away and grab the proffered plate.

He begins to eat the omelette while standing, pacing around his living room and stopping to lean against the wall and look out the window. He wonders if he should sit down at the dining table, give Eren a chance to properly enjoy his meal.

But that just feels

old and

 _married_ and

sedentary.

Levi sucks at morning-afters and Eren doesn't seem to care as he joins Levi near the window, perching on the edge of a couch and staring at Levi staring out the window.

"I'm sorry for making a fuss about the gun thing. I know it's not really my business." Eren takes a bite of his omelette and speaks around his chewing, "And you did warn me that you were 'dangerous' so I guess I get to keep finding out what the fuck that means."

Levi genuinely can't figure out if he wants to squeeze Eren's cheeks for being so appropriately weird or slap him for talking with his mouth full.

Tick tock.

The clock keeps ticking as they finish their food, Eren stealing glances at Levi every once in awhile.

"That was really good. I've never thought of using cilantro as a topping before." Levi says earnestly, because it truly was a delicious breakfast. He clears their plates, washes them. Water droplets splashing his torso as he realizes stupidly that he's still shirtless.

"I should probably get out of here and head to class." Eren says, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. Levi guesses Eren is starting to feel the awkward jitters too.

"Do you know how to get back to wherever you need to go?"

Eren laughs, bright, and the clock stops ticking momentarily. "Honestly, I have no clue. But Uber's a thing so I'll survive." He hovers at the doorway, definitely intentionally trying to prolong the moment.

C'mon Eren, just

Go.

Of course Levi's silent urges don't do anything. Eren plows forward like a determined bulldozer. "So, I had a really good time with you. Can I get your number?"

Levi opens the door for Eren. "Thanks, last night was great. But I really have to get to a meeting so you should go." The words tumble out of his mouth, part of a script he's rehearsed countlessly, a monologue he's delivered to too many people in the past.

"Yo, are you seriously trying to ghost me in person? You really don't want more of this?" Eren gestures at himself and wiggles his eyebrows, the goofy grin on his face masking the confusion in his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm serious." Levi crosses his arms over his chest for added effect.

Eren's eyebrows furrow, grin falters. He looks unhappy. "Okay but, last night wasn't an average one-night stand. You definitely thought it was incredible."

"Are you usually this pushy with everyone you fuck?" Levi bites back.

Green eyes narrow, unhappiness wiped clean off a beautiful face. Now Eren looks calm and blank and it's a terrible look compared to his normal expressiveness. "No, you know. I liked spending time with you and thought you kind of felt the same way, but if you're going to be curmudgeon ass and insist you don't want to see me again, I'll get out of your hair."

He steps into the hallway and closes the door behind him.

Levi can't help but feel like

everything that just happened shouldn't have happened this way. And then

curmudgeon. Who the fuck even uses vocabulary like that anymore? Levi isn't old. For fucks sake, just because Eren's a college brat doesn't mean 34 is old.

He stares at the door and it stares back.

Nothing gives.

And Levi lets his solitude, his favorite companion, envelop him in its arms and everything is exactly as it should be.

He moves on with his life.

* * *

"Grisha Jaeger is gone."

Solemn. This loss is more personal to Erwin than if he accidentally shaved off one of those prodigious eyebrows of his.

"Gone as in dead or gone as in disappeared?"

Erwin looks lost for a moment, pulls himself together. "We aren't certain yet. I believe he either went into hiding or was kidnapped before he had the chance to."

"I didn't realize the other people trying to get to him posed real threats."

As far as Levi knew, Erwin's contingent was the main group after Grisha and his Coordinate Project. Erwin's contingent being Erwin "the brains," Mike "the nose," Levi "the aim," and...

"I'm SO sorry I'm late!" a voice shouts as the door is flung open.

Hanji shuffles in, plopping stacks of paper down on the table in the meeting room and heaving themselves into a chair.

There's also Hanji, "the lab rat."

"What did I miss? I have updates on Mina Carolina, but you guys seem to be in the middle of something el- WAIT. Levi! Is that a hickey?!"

And there's Hanji's short attention span.

Levi slaps a hand onto his neck and ignores them. "Erwin, do we have any idea who could be behind it if he was in fact kidnapped?"

Erwin sighs and nods at once. "There are a few suspects. It could be drug cartels, although I cannot figure out what they'd need Grisha's work for. It could be the anarchists although they are highly amateurish. I'm also considering Senator Pixis; we heard that Grisha was refusing to cooperate with him recently."

"And Mike checked out where Grisha was located last?" Levi doesn't really understand Mike. Sometimes it seems as though they have him on their team solely for his sense of smell, although it has come in handy in the past.

"Yes, Mike is on the trail." Erwin turns to Hanji, "So, you have the results of Carolina's autopsy?"

Hanji looks up and looks alive again, tuning into the conversation. They begin rifling through their papers. "Yes, unfortunately, we did not detect much. Her liver was 5% larger than standard, and she had elevated levels of LDL."

Levi barks out an angry laugh. "Really, high cholesterol? They get this way because Grisha fattens them up?"

None of their autopsies have revealed anything useful.

Hanji looks upset. "I know, I know. Whatever these subjects are being treated with, we can't detect it in the blood as a foreign substance. It seems to integrate seamlessly into the body; which it kind of has to in order to not trigger the immune response. But I do intend to look further into the LDLs. We shouldn't rule out lipoproteins as a possibility."

If Erwin is bothered by the lack of meaningful results, he doesn't show it. "Well, if that's all, we can wrap up here." He smiles a distant smile at both of them before sweeping out of the room.

Levi starts to exit before he's inevitably interrupted.

"Soo, Levi. Tell me about that hickey! Who was it? Was it good? Are you going to see him again?"

Hanji follows him out the room.

"Hanji it's nothing really. I'm serious. I needed to get laid so I went to a bar. That's the story."

Of course, Hanji squeals in response to this. "Why did you go to a bar without telling me? We haven't gone out together in so long, I miss you!"

Levi keeps walking and mutters, "Because the last time we went out together, you vomited all over the guy I was going to take home." Hanji laughs and gets a gleam in their eyes.

"It's settled then. We're going clubbing tonight."

They are finally outside the office building and Levi turns to face Hanji. "What? No. I'm not going clubbing, you know I don't like it."

"I'll pick you up at 9!" Hanji sings as they skip off in a random direction simply for the sake of making an abrupt exit. Levi groans. What Hanji wants, Hanji gets. Which means Levi is in for a very long night.

* * *

Levi has another kill that afternoon.

It seems pointless considering it was assigned before they found out Grisha was missing.

But Erwin knows Levi, knows

that Levi needs this to function.

So, crouching on a rooftop, Levi fires his sniper rifle. Watches the body thud to the ground. Watches curious bystanders shriek in horror. Feels a wave of satisfaction.

Satisfaction and nothing more.

* * *

The club Hanji drags Levi to is noisy and crowded, which is to be expected of a Friday night. He pushes his way past faceless bodies and beelines towards the bar, Hanji hurrying to keep up with him.

"Come on, don't you wanna dance?" Hanji orders them two whiskey sours.

It's not that Levi doesn't like dancing. He just has to be in a very particular mood to not feel awkward while doing it, which results in him not liking it most of the time.

He doesn't respond to Hanji who takes his silence as permission to bob their head in time with the music like a verifiable dork.

He has to admit, he doesn't mind the music. It's more heavy RnB than it is mind-numbing EDM.

"Oh, I see someone I have to talk to!" Hanji bounds away from the bar in the next instant and this is another reason Levi doesn't like going out with Hanji. He always has to cover the tab.

He looks around the club, at the dancefloor while he waits for his drink. Something catches his eye, something all too familiar.

Lo and behold.

Fucking Eren.

At the sight of him, excitement courses through Levi and he doesn't even try to shut it down.

He's dancing close with some guy with a dark undercut and blond tips, mouthing the words to whatever song is playing.

Levi isn't jealous per se, more just disappointed with himself. He doesn't want to look away, only does to skull down both his and Hanji's drinks as the bartender brings them over.

While he's chugging, he doesn't notice Eren come up beside him.

"Fancy seeing you here." His jaw is set and he avoids looking at Levi, only at the bar to order a beer.

"Likewise" Levi sets his glass down, also doesn't look at Eren. "Nice guy you were dancing with." He tries to mention this offhandedly but it's obviously anything but casual.

Eren laughs. "Oh, that's just a friend, Jean."

And then he's leaning down to whisper in Levi's ear

"But you better believe I'm going home with someone tonight, and it's not gonna be you."

Levi finally turns his head, catches a smirk, green eyes glinting, and a tall body sauntering away.

He doesn't know if it was supposed to be a challenge, but he takes it as one. Maybe it's the dark atmosphere, the illusion of anonymity, the two whiskey sours metabolizing in his gut, but he finds himself getting up and entering the throng of sweaty bodies.

Everything he always tells himself, all the cautionary whispers from this morning about how anything more than a one-night stand is too complicated to sustain for a man who kills people for a living, it all peters out of his system.

He's sure the whispers will be back soon, but for now he's tipsy and he just wants to feel happy, aroused, carefree.

He finds Eren just as some burly guy comes up from behind and starts attempting to dance on him. Levi grabs Eren's arm and pulls them together, chest to chest.

Eren looks startled but not surprised.

This is the other thing Levi dislikes about dancing.

He's short; it's clumsy. Their waists aren't exactly aligned so they can't really grind while facing each other unless Levi humps Eren's leg which is disgusting.

He settles for throwing one arm on Eren's shoulder as Erens hands land on his hips. Eren rolls his body to the beat effortlessly, clearly understanding the thrumming of the music, blissfully moving without having to concentrate on it.

A natural, then. Well, that makes one of them.

The beat changes slightly, morphing into a grimy bass-line. In one swift movement, Eren turns Levi, pulls his back flush against his chest, grinds his ass.

"Glad you're back for more, Mr. Dangerous." It's meant to be a sexy, alluring whisper but Eren has to shout to be heard over the music, so it comes off more as a loud statement of the obvious.

Levi appreciates the show of dominance anyway.

He closes his eyes and leans his head back against Eren's collarbone, finally lets the music control him, let's himself get a little slutty as he grinds back against Eren's gradually hardening crotch. Eren grabs his hips tighter in response, leans over, kisses down Levi's cheek, his jaw, his neck.

Tender and dirty, all at once.

Levi opens his eyes for a second, sweeps them lazily across the club. In his alcohol-induced haze, he sees what looks like a masked man dragging a bloody-faced Hanji outside by the ponytail.

The music in his brain stutters to a stop.

 _Shit_.


End file.
